Our Industry

The private security industry is large, fast-growing, and global. Unfortunately, it is also plagued by high turnover, poor training, and lax oversight — all of which put the public at risk.

Private security is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. There are approximately 1.1 million private security officers working in the United States — far outnumbering American police officers. Some 600,000 private security officers are outsourced–working for specialized security companies hired by clients to secure their premises.

Just a handful of giant security companies dominate the global market for security. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Group Four Securicor (G4S) is the world’s largest private security company, with more than 585,000 employees in 110 countries worldwide. Sweden-based Securitas, with operations in 40 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and Africa is the second largest, employing more than 260,000.

In the United States, multinational Securitas is the largest employer, with more than 100,000 officers. The top six security companies in the United States — Securitas, G4S/Wackenhut, Allied Barton, US Security Associates, Guardsmark and ABM/ACSS — control 44% of market.